Maura Tierney reveals she has a tumor in her breast

Maura Tierney has revealed that she has found a tumor in her breast, following weekend reports that the illness has pushed back the premiere of her new NBC fall drama Parenthood.

"In an effort to guard my privacy, it seems that the wording of NBC's press release has unfortunately caused some confusion and undue alarm about my health. I have discovered a tumor in my breast which requires surgery," Tierney, 44, tells Usmagazine.com in a statement.

"I will not know either my exact diagnosis or course of treatment until that surgery is performed. My doctors have all assured me this is a very treatable condition," she goes on.

Adds the actress, "I'm very optimistic as to the outcome and want to thank everyone who has sent positive thoughts and support. I look forward to going back to work soon."

Parenthood, a contemporary reimagining of the 1989 comedy, had been scheduled to begin filming July 27. No air date has been set.

Tierney is best known for her 10-year stint as Dr. Abby Lockhart on NBC's ER, for which she earned an Emmy nomination.

Ugh. Bad news...
According to the Hollywood Reporter, Maura Tierney needs an "eight-week medical evaluation" of some kind. (NBC: "We are unable to release further details and ask that you respect her privacy at this time.")
This means that Maura's upcoming NBC drama, Parenthood, produced by Ron Howard and Jason Katims and costarring Peter Krause and Mae Whitman,will be pushed to midseason. Mercy, the Michelle Trachtenberg series about nurses, will premiere in Parenthood's place.
But the schedule switching is obviously not the point. Maura Tierney is a visibly awesome woman whom we have loved since NewsRadio and all the way through ER, and whatever she's going through right now sounds awful.
Hopefully, this will turn out to be nothing, and Maura will be back to full capacity as soon as humanly possible.

Maura Tierney has exited the cast of NBC's "Parenthood" series, nearly two months after the show delayed production while she underwent cancer treatments.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, production on "Parenthood" had already been delayed until November, but with Tierney's treatment extending later than initially anticipated, NBC is moving forward to recast her role.

"Ms. Tierney and her doctors remain confident that the outcome of her treatments will be positive," Tierney's spokeswoman told the trade paper. "She is deeply disappointed that she will not be able to rejoin such a highly respected, talented, fun and funny group of actors and wishes to thank Jason Katims and NBC for their patience and support."

"Parenthood" had originally been scheduled to premiere this month on Wednesday nights as one of the anchors of NBC's fall, but the network swapped the drama, based on Ron Howard's 1989 film, with midseason drama "Mercy."

Uh...they already tried a "Parenthood" t.v. show and Leonardo Dicaprio was in it...I don't think it'll work but I might tune in. I like Maura...one of the few actresses who don't annoy me. I hope she ends up coming out of this okay.